GARDEN OF EDEN | 2018| OVERVIEW

Written By youcanreid

A Brief History of Eden: 

In 1996 guided by the vision of our manage Brett Fairbrother and the hard work of a handful of New England bohemians (including Andre Gardner, Russ Weis, Sam Ankerson, Nat Koren, Steve Seremeth, lil' Sadie and more) we hatched a homegrown "Sanford and Son" gathering of Strangers in northern VT. The first garden of Eden was in fact in Eden Vermont, hence the name.  What we discovered as the festivities began that fateful weekend was a collection of tofu eating, beer guzzling, drug-tolerant, sensitive souls who were in on our joke.  In turns out, it wasn't a joke at all but a privilege. It was what would become the heart of an organism called Strangefolk, composed of ourselves, our songs, fans, friends, families and a fantasy-like string of memories.  Some 2 decades later summon that unusual cocktail (pardon the pun)  with a self-assurance that those moments, that singular indelible place in the collective of our minds still exists. #WeWillRemain.

Free Download, Stream or Embed of Stranfolk Live at The Palladium and Conspire To Smile

Eden 2018 - The Nuts and Bolts

  1. Where:  Jay Peak Resort, Vermont, Stateside Amphitheater. Jay has been a perfect place for Eden in so many ways.  The Amphitheater is plug & play which makes it easy to get the engine in 5th gear. The folks at Jay have been extremely welcoming and enthusiastic about Strangefolk the band and our fans. A lot of Folks bring their kids and theirs a ton to do as a family. It's a huge resort in the heart of VT that would otherwise be empty. We basically take that f*cker over and make it our own. We know we have to figure out on-sight camping if not this year, in the future but for now... we glamp. See camping and lodging options below.
  2. What: Two days of The Folk  and the shared act of belonging to it.
  3. When: Friday August 10th thru Saturday the11th (and as long as you can stand into the 12th) Doors at 6pm
  4. Why: It's f*cking fun.  

VIP Passes = Very Important Strangers (VIS)

A VIS is a special kind of VIP it stands for Very Important Stranger.  As a way of letting our proverbial hair down and truly blowing down the wall between the band and the audience each year we play an acoustic brunch billed as a VIP (read VIS) set .  It affords us a casual environment to interact personally with longtime friends & fans as well as a chance to play songs with an informality, a subtlety and vulnerability that's otherwise hard to summon.  For me personally, this has been the highlight of Eden V.2 it feels like a college reunion. Plus like your favorite college roommate it comes with perks:

  • Meet and greet with the band (perks limited to 1 per VIS ticket holder & must include mutual consent)
  • Brunch + Full Bar
  • Merchandise Bag:  including an Eden T-shirt, Poster, Conspire To Smile Merch, Lyric Pins, and more goodies...
  • VIP Pass: Special viewing area for shows
  • Special VIS/VIP Bar: VIP bar during the main stage show.

 

Tickets

  • $40 1-day General Admission 
  • $60 2-day General Admission
  • $200 Exclusive VIP (includes VIP access to both nights, band meet and greet commemorative merch package, and an intimate acoustic set with the band in Jay Peak's Bullwheel Bar on Saturday afternoon with a special lunch)
  • Ticket & Lodging Packages available at 800-451-4449 - ask for "Strangefolk Package"
  • All Ages, Children under 6 are free.

 

The Line Up:

We've never asked random bands to participate at Eden to hock an extra ticket or two but rather friends that feed the sense of place and the spirit of the weekend. Strangefolk will play 2 sets per night plus the VIP/VIS" (Read: Very Important Strangers) acoustic meet and greet set) see below for details.  We will be joined by our co-conspirators:

  • MoonBoot Lover - Peter Prince is an old friend, an old soul and one gifted musician. When we just started playing in the early 90's we used to go to Club Metronome and see Moonboot drop jaws. In fact, when I first met Andy Herrick (of AOD) he was playing drums in Moonboot. Pete and the brothers' boot hold a special place in our lore and will open the show Friday, August 10th.
  • The Dead Winter Carpenters:  My first interaction with The Dead Winter Carpenters was when I  met Jesse Dunn's (of DWC) mom, Donna when Strangefolk played a free show at the waterfront in Burlington in 1997.  She introduced herself and told me her son was a fan and had been inspired to start his own group. And so he did and this year we welcome Jesse, his wife Jenni the "Carpenters"  and of course his parents Dick and Donna.
  • Conspire To Smile: Is the name of my new "Reid & Folks" record which would not exist with herculean support from the boys of Strangefolk and Assembly of Dust. The set will be infused with awesome by of our pals from the AOD rhythm section, Dave Diamond and John Leccese, as well as Aaron Maxwell (of God Street Wine fame) on Guitar and Vocals, all of the members of Strangefolk and other special musical guests. We will  #ConspireToSmile 11ish on Friday night.
  • The Dave Grippo Funk Band featuring Stevie Jones: Dave Grippo and later his Horn Section of Phish fame, The Giant Country Horns were role models to us as young musicians in Burlington. Stevie Jones played a similar role to a gaggle of troubadours in Northern ME including Erik Glockler and Jon Trafton.  In fact, Erik and Stevie play together often and Stevie was instrumental in bringing Erik's s solo record to life. We could not be more proud to have our friends and our mentors join us in the festivities late night (11ish)  on Sat.

 

Other Activities At Jay Peak

  • Enormous Indoor Waterpark
  • Indoor Climbing Wall
  • Arcade
  • Hiking
  • Frisbee Golf
  • Golf Golf
  • Day Care
  • Tram Rides to The Top of Jay Peak
  • August West Grateful Dead Tribute noon-6pm August 11th - FREE Live Music from Dead Sessions, Hoopla, and Rick Redington & The Luv
  • Nitrous balloons PLUS kid friendly regular balloons (ask before you inhale) 

Travel

  • Address: 830 Jay Peak Road, Jay, VT 05859
  • Airport(s): Burlington Vermont (BTV) is the most obvious but you can do Montreal (YUL), Boston, North East Kingdon "International" airport (EFK). For a fee the resort provides ground transport from each.
  • Amtrak Train: Amtrak goes into Saint Albans VT wich is only 43 miles from Jay.  Again the resort can come to pick you up.
  • Shuttle: Jay Peak has a shuttle that runs from all regional airports and Amtrak
  • Jay Peak Travel Services: Jay Peak has a service where they will arrange all of your travel. To arrange travel through Jay Peak go HERE
  • Drive Times
    • Burlington = about an Hour
    • Boston = 3.5 hours
    • NYC = 6.5 hours
    • Portland ME = just under 4 hours
    • Montreal - 2 hours
    • San Francisco CA = 45 hours

Lodging & Camping


Nearby Hotels

 

Nearby Campsites

 

See You At Eden 2018 Folks

Be Good To Each Other

Erik, Jon, Luke, Reid & Team Strangefolk

 

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